Millet LRS-1 Review

Tonite I’m going to go over the Millet LRS-1 tactical rifle scope. I bought one a month or so ago as a cheaper alternative to another Leupold. I don’t remember exactly what I spent but I bought the scope, low mount tactical rings and a 20 MOA Millet base and as I recall it was about $550 to my doorstep. I’ve had the scope on the range probably 10 times this month and have 220 rounds of 308 Federal Gold Medal downrange so far with it.

Specs: I call this thing the “Hubble Telescope” cause it’s HUGE! 22 inches long, 2.2 lbs and has a 35 mm tube, the extra 5 mm’s doesn’t sound like a lot but wait till you see one of these big fat things in person. Millet has several kinds of 35mm rings, the scope comes with high mount rings with it. They are WAY to high, I’ve never seen a cheek piece that would level your face with the scope on those rings. So I bought the low mount tactical rings, 6 screws in each ring. The thing comes with a sun shield and Millet scope cover flip-up caps. The objective is 56 mm’s so that’s pretty big. I used the Millet base and the base is tall too, good thing, not sure the objective would have cleared the barrel otherwise with the low mount rings. So the scope is a 6-25×56. It has a MIL dot reticle with 1/2 MIL bars. The MIL dots can be used for range estimation at both 12.5x and 25x power. The reticle is illuminated in the one I bought. I also got the one that has MIL windage and elevation adjustments, not MOA. More on that later. It’s a solid feeling good looking scope. Has overall 140 MOA of adjustment so that’s a lot too. Last it has a green illuminated reticle if you choose to turn it on.

Now if your rusty like I was or new to this entirely Millets website under “Resources” has every piece of info you would really need to get the most out of your scope, or ANY scope and most any cartridge. All the formula’s are there, all you need to figure out is your loads drop in inches at given yardages and you can figure out the correct number of clicks you will need to hit at that range. This bullet drop info is available all over the web and on the ammo makers websites for Hornady and Federal ammo. Of course this will vary a tad with indiviual rifles, ammo, wind, temp, humidity, blah blah but its the best place to start. Additionally they have formulas for wind adjustments, shooting up and down hills, you name it. A SF guy named Major Plaster wrote all the stuff. I thought it was all very well written and easy to understand. As far as 308’s go, he’s already pretty much handed you the world on that site. So regardless of your scope or caliber it’s a wealth of useful info, check it out.

OK back to the MIL adjustments, you can get one in MOA but I chose the MIL adjustments because the reticle is measuring in MILS. So it saves the step of converting MIL to MOA when making your elevation or windage adjustments. A MIL is simply 3.6 inches at 100 yards, so at say 500 yards it’s 18 inches, at 1000 yards it’s 36 inches, see?? It seems a bit confusing at first when your used to one thing but after studying the resources site for a few hours it was all crystal clear to me. It’s not hard so don’t be afraid of the MIL scale. The target knobs make a .1 MIL adjustment per click, so 10 clicks to the MIL. 1 click at 100 yards is .36 inches, 10 clicks is 3.6 inches or 1 MIL at 100 yards. Where a MOA scope makes usually 1/4 MOA adjustments, so .25 inches per click, 4 clicks per 1 inch or 1 MOA at 100 yards. The same 10 clicks on a MOA scope should be 2.5 inches at 100 yards. Just a different unit of measure, that’s all a MIL is.

Now let’s talk about using the scope and what I thought of it. I WANT to like it. The optics are clear and bright enough to use but not awesome. It focus’s well and easily with a side mounted focus knob on the left side where it’s easy to use. I didn’t apparently toque down the rings well enough the first time and it shifted. I have it all tightened up and locktited now and its seems good. I have shot some very good groups with it. I set it on 12.5x and left it though, it seems to move the POI too much for me to be happy when changing the power, so I used 12.5 as then its on a mil scale setting for ranging a target. I used it on 25 power to range some targets which ranged out at 1190 yards but when I turned it back down the POI was off over 4 inches at 100 yards I also ran the elevation up far enough to get to 1190 yards, so it could be the thing just doesn’t re-zero properly. I am going to test this further and let you know after some more rounds at different ranges. If that’s the case I’ll send it in if it’s that far off, I’m leaning towards the knobs being the culprit as the clicks suck, some are hard, some soft, they all sound rickety, not smooth and precise like a Leupold. I am not impressed with the feel of the knobs. Then again there’s 2 new rifles in the mix and 2 lots of ammo, so to rule out things 1 at a time I moved the scope to a tried and true rifle I already had, left the magnification at 12.5 and made sure all the ammo was the same lot #, we will soon see. I’m going to re-zero tomorrow probably and go from there to see where this POI change came from when going back to my 100 yard dope.

Here’s another thought though, most people don’t shoot very far. Whether they don’t have the room or who cares the reason, they just don’t. I only know a handful of long range guys, most just site in at 50 and after the deer they go, not my thing. Anywho, the point being even if the thing doesn’t pan out well and return to your battle sight after an adjustment this may not be the end of the world. Using the MIL reticle you can hold off out to 600 yards, just use the dots and bars. 600 yards is still a good ways away, in fact it’s close to ideal military sniper range. Much closer and your going to get shot or caught, much farther and your chances of getting indirect fire for your efforts increase and it gets harder to see/hit someone. Hadji didn’t stand still, standing up strait with a black shirt on against a white wall, I wish they would have. Anyway, we will see how she does now she’s on a rifle I know and trust. The point being though to 600 yards there is really no need to turn a knob and I rarely use windage anyway, I hold off for that.

Wrapping up for now I have found some issues. I still haven’t given up on the scope though. I will get through these one at a time and report back as I am sure of what I’m going to tell you. For now I have hopes for the scope and “to be continued”.

15 Responses to Millet LRS-1 Review

Took the scope off and inspected it for crimps both visually and mechanical using a caliper. Scope seems to have a slight oval shape between the eyepiece and the turrets but the measurement in diameter is very consistent ( to thousands of an inch), unlike a crimp which would probably produce a more inconsistent deformation localized to one area (atleast i think so). Checked the glass for any other visual signs of a crimp. From what i can tell, no signs of a crimp so atleast my misreading pf the directions didnt cost me my lunch money. Used blue loctite and torqued to 16inlbs with a 77.8mm eye relief. Next on the list is that cheek weld you recommended. I got the day off from work, so im going to take it to the range today and see if the scope can hold zero. Thanks for the help!!. Got any more tips for me on accurizing the gun?

Jordan, cool, glad to hear the scope is fine. As far as accurizing…I can’t speak for your skills but mine do not require a ton of aftermarket upgrades or goodies. These rifles shoot AWESOME as is stock rifles. I find that mine shoot better than I do. I think that would be the case with most people. For myself I need only to find a good, consistent load, the right cheek weld, a harris bipod and a timney trigger. The 40X factory trigger it came with is ok but I find I can do better with the lighter Timney drop in adjustable trigger. I think I paid $125 from Botach for the last one and it is really nice. After installing this trigger please be careful till you have it adjusted right. It can be set too light and the firing pin can drop if the bolt is closed roughly when it is too light. I set it light and then roughly worked the bolt alot harder than I ever would shooting to make sure the thing wasn’t going to accidently fire. I also used some locktite on the inards of the thing when I had it set where I wanted it. So good ammo, a trigger and as much practice as you can is really the best way to go for me anyway. I recently purchased a “tactical” 22LR Savage called the Savage MK II-TR. It is a beautiful, super awesome 22 rifle set up with a fluted bull barrel and a McMillian Style stock with an accu-trigger installed as it comes from the factory. This rifle has allowed me to practice my fundamentals for pennies on the 100’s of dollars. For the $450 this thing cost it is worth $1000’s to me. Cheap practice from an incredibly accurate bolt action that “feels” just like your full power bolt gun. I will have a full review in the next couple months on it after I’m done putting it through her paces but check out the link for an overview of this fine practice rifle. I highly recommend this purchase as a cheap training alternative.

PS…I tend to shoot better when I use an eye patch of my left eye…I forgot to mention that. Make one out of a piece of cardboard and a rubber band. It keeps me from having to “scrunch” up my face closing my left eye. I find I have a better, more consistent cheek weld. Also in Sniper school we were taught to used a bag for a rear support. We simply used a sock stuffed with uncooked rice. You can use dirt,sand or whatever…rest your buttstock on it and then use your left hand to squeeze the sock for any slight elevation adjustments you may need to make while aiming..you don’t need your left upfront because we were using Harris bipods..it really worked out well. Both of those things won’t even cost you 3$.

Thanks for all of your help and advice. I’m working on a load right now using Sierra 168 grain match kings. Always have been fond of the aerodynamics of a boat tail bullet. Just wish i could find a way to cope with cooling issues and copper fowling from time to time. Started out with a “mid range” load using cci-250 primers and re19 powder. Even using the a C.O.L. of the standard 3.260, the thing still shot better than any factor ammo ever pumped through the gun (the gun has only about 150 rounds through it, so it is still technically in “break in” phase). Switching to benchrest primers this next time around and going to play with the overall length to see how tight of a group i can get. I backed the projectile off of the lands about .010 inches and got a C.O.L of about 3.310 or something close to it. Unfortunately, after doing more research, I have begun to speculate over an ever existing that i believe the rifle has had since its manufacture.

I am doing as much research as i can on this before i drop the extra cash, but at this point, i am pretty convinced that this will solve a lot of my grouping issues. When i first broke down the gun before shooting it, i noticed that there was a tool mark near the extractor. It almost looked like there was too much pressure applied by a bucking bar, rivet gun, etc on the flush rivet at the 6 oclock position (or maybe someone dropped it because they were playing with it when they weren’t supposed to). I didn’t think much of it at first until i noticed that the bolt was incredibly difficult to close with a round in it. After going through a 100 round break in, i noticed a slight amount of wear on the face of the bolt right where the tool mark was located. This automatically told me that the bolt face was not square with the barrel face. Once again, i didn’t think much of it. But then again, this was 4 years ago. I had a gunsmith take a look at it (bad idea). He decided to take a field stone to it to remove some of the metal from the bolt face (really bad idea). Once this happened, i noticed my groups opened up a little bit and the gun began to not tolerate heat so much any more. Right now, the gun tends to behave moderately up to 4 shots. At that point, if you are shooting in succession, the barrel starts to get a little warm and fowling begins to occur. Now it starts to sling bullets. I have contacted Remington concerning the issue. After having the gunsmith tinker with the bolt face in this manner, i think it is pretty safe to say that the bolt is now junk, so it will need to be replaced. I also voided the warranty by having a gunsmith tinker with it (i was an FNG to shooting and didn’t know better). Remington said that the bolt ‘would’ have to be replaced and the gun would have to be head spaced to bare minimums again. So two questions. One, is this a good idea? And two, once i get this done, am i going to have to go back and redetermine the overall ledge of the custom round due to the new headspace? (my guess is yes, but i figured i’d double check).

If you want to see pictures, i’d be glad to show you the dilemma i am facing at this point. Oh and about the Savage MKII, I actually work at the Outpost Armory (owned by Barrett) and we had one in the store that i was eye balling as a practice rifle (because shooting the 7mm is going to eat a hole in my wallet if i practice all the time with “just” it.) I thought about buying it while I was there but figured I would consult fellow sharp shooters. I guess I got my answer and didn’t even have to ask. With all of the qualitites of a “marksman” rifle, it seemed like a good buy to me, but then again, i have always had questions concerning savage.

Jordan, I don’t even want to offer advice on this because I just don’t know. I can’t picture myself taking a wetstone to my Remingtons bolt I hope you found a new smith….Reading that actually made my stomach twist. Reloading is another thing I don’t have any experience in. I have been looking at getting one but haven’t even picked a brand or style yet. I’m gonna shoot an email to the site owners the Coker brothers and see if they have any advice for you. I would guess sending it back to Remington wouldn’t hurt but if they are going to rework the whole action on your dime then I would be inclined to send it to one of the several smiths known for top notch Rem 700 accurizing and let them go through it. If your going to pay then seems better that you get it back better than it would have come from the factory. I’ll get ahold of the Cokers and see if they can help you.

Wow, that sucks. I would ask Remington if they will fix it under warranty – probably not because of the ‘smith work but you never know. If they want to charge you then I would do what Cary suggests – I would be inclined to send it to one of the several smiths known for top notch Rem 700 accurizing and let them go through it.

I bought this scope for my Rem 700 SF2. I am trying to personally tune the gun to be the “tack driver” it is claimed to be. I too am considering the set of low mount rings in 35mm. In your opinion, if I have a Talley 20 MOA Rail, would it clear the barrel?

Jordan, give me till Sunday the 6th to pull that rifle out and measure the base height. I’m thinking it’s going to be very very close. I’m using the low mount tactical rings from Millet…along with a Millet 20 MOA base BUT I remember mounting that thing thinking it sure was thick. I also remember thinking the scope barely cleared. So let me measure the base and the space I have left between the scope and the barrel. You should be able to measure your rail height and subtract it from mine and see if there is still gonna be room left. So Sunday nite I’ll have that done for ya and posted. Worst thing that happens is you end up going with medium height rings and maybe a Karsten adjustable cheek piece to get your face where ya need it. TTYS. Cary

Jordan, measurements are as follows. From the barrel to the top of the front of the rail is exactly 3/8 inch. It is the Millet 20 MOA rail item number PC00009. The space between the barrel and the objective was also 3/8 inch exactly. So….measure your Talley and if it is not as tall you have less than 3/8 of an inch to play with. You’ll have to decide if it’s enough or whether you get medium rings (DT00725 which are .642 in height compared to the lowmount rings which are .476 tall) and maybe a cheek riser.(link below for cheek riser I use on another rifle) Hope that helped ya. Cary

Thanks!! Your measurements turned out to be spot on. Now here’s another dilemma that I seem to be having. I never really did my own work on a gun before until now. I’m starting to attempt to modify my gun rather than have a gunsmith accomplish this. (gotta learn somehow right?). However, the instructions that came with the 6 screw rings were somewhat unclear as to what the torque for the screws should be. At this point, the scope is already on the gun, but I also read that on “high recoil” rifles, blue loctite should be used. I am not sure if a 7mm magnum qualifies for that?. I am worrying a little bit about how I mounted the scope right now. Millett suggests 30-40 inlbs for the scope rings (but for the base or the caps?). I’ve also read that this may be too tight. I’ve heard 35, 25-30, and seen a video where someone mounted this scope using 38. Recommendations? My method was evenly tighten all 12 screws quite firmly using the long end of the torx wrench that came with it.

The 30-40 recommendation is for the rings to the base I’m sure. That would be way overboard for the screws in the rings holding the scope itself. I have mounted them with and without a torque wrench. I prefer the wrench…if you use a t-wrench I would start about 35 inch lbs for the rings to the base and 15-18 inch lbs of torque per screw in the top. That’s with a torque wrench….

Without a torque wrench I go pretty tight for the rings to the base…I just try to feel for it…I know that’s not very scientific and I would almost bet a weeks pay I over do it…So to the base I go very snug plus half more turn. With the screws I tighten them up like you would a tire skipping around them evenly and I turn them to barely snug plus half a turn….That’s about the best I can explain it…it’s a “feel” thing. I bet most people who don’t use a t-wrench over tighten…I always feel after using a wrench that it won’t be enough…but it is. My Millet is currently on a 700 SPS that will put 3-5 rounds easily covered by a dime (on the RARE days I do what I’m supposed to do) so I guess I got something right.

Last thing would be leveling the scope. I usually put it in a rest and use a bubble level to even the gun and then eye ball it. I’ve had good luck eye balling them in level. You can check it by firing 1 round when sited in then giving it a ton of elevation and make sure the next round hits strait up from the first one…if it’s going up and then left or right..you probably need to look at straiting up the reticle. You can also level the gun and then hang a string from the ceiling and line your reticle up with the hanging string with a little weight on the end of it.

Hope this clears up that for ya…I guess my bottom line is this…Don’t go crazy tight at first…if it holds great…if it doesn’t tighten up a bit more. Better to start low and have to tighten up a bit than break your stuff goin nuts right off the bat. Let me know how it works out. Good luck. Cary

Joe, yes and there’s a part 2 to this article here on TGR. Just use the search thing. There really needs to be a part 3. I had said I probably wouldn’t buy another but I did. The second one has performed much better but the turrets still feel like those sea salt grinders you use at nicer restaurants. While they track on this one I still despise the way they feel…it’s a tough call on this scope for me…I’m on the edge. I don’t give it a whole hearted YES! but neither would I tell you not to buy one…it’s a crap shoot. It has a lifetime warranty. Buy it from opticsplanet.com if it does not work for ya you won’t have any trouble getting your $$ back. Let me know how you feel about your turrets and if they sound like they are grinding up rocks inside the thing. Thanks.

Have you had a chance to farther evaluate this scope from Millet? I just ordered one without illumination and am waiting to get in the mail. I will be mounting to a .17hmr and also using on a .300 win mag.